EghtesadOnline: More than 83,194 tons of dates worth over $95.38 million were exported to 69 countries during the first three months of the current Iranian year (March 21-June 21), based on the latest figures released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.

The top 10 export destinations were India with $16.1 million worth of imports, Iraq with $14.58 million, Pakistan with $14.08 million, Turkey with $12.08 million, Kazakhstan with $7.79 million, Afghanistan with $4.51 million, the UAE with $3.53 million, Russia with $2.93 million, Azerbaijan with $2.2 million and Malaysia with $1.9 million.

According to the chairman of the National Association of Iranian Dates, Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia are the world’s biggest producers of dates with 1.4 million tons, 1.2 million tons and 1.1 million tons per year respectively.

“Yet, Iran is the biggest exporter of the crop,” Mohsen Rashid Farrokhi also told Financial Tribune in an interview last year, adding that Egypt ranks second, with Saudi Arabia and Tunisia sharing the third spot.

The official noted that the value of Iran’s date exports stands at around $300 million per year.

Per capita date consumption in Iran is 3 kilograms. Kerman is the biggest date producing Iranian province with an output of around 354,000 tons a year.